Contents

Life & Career

Robley Evans was born 18 August, 1846 in Floyd County, Virginia. He entered the U.S. Navy on 20 September, 1860.[1] Despite Virginia's secession in 1861, Evans remained loyal to the Union, and as a member of the Naval Academy class of 1864, he was ordered to active duty in September 1863.

In the attacks on Fort Fisher, North Carolina, Evans exhibited great gallantry under fire on 15 January 1865, when already wounded, he led his landing party through heavy fire to charge the Confederate defenses.

In 1891 and 1892, commanding the gunboat Yorktown on the Pacific Station, he won great acclaim for his firm and skillful handling of a tense situation with Chile. As a Captain, Evans was rebuked in The New York Times by the Rev. Dr. Leonard W. Bacon, in part due to his reputation for profanity.[2]

Evans was appointed as Commander-in-Chief, Asiatic Fleet on 8 April, 1902.[3] Subsequently, he commanded the Great White Fleet in its passage in 1907 and 1908 from the Atlantic through the Straits of Magellan to the Pacific, where he was relieved of command because of ill health.

Evans died in Washington, D.C., on 3 January, 1912. Two destroyers were named Evans in his honor.